Fighting writer's block that isn't really writer's block

We've all been there, at that place where you just cannot get the words to come out even when we know where a story is supposed to go, the words are like so much ether. So, what's a person to do? 

I don't know. I really don't. As I sit here typing this, that's the frustrating place I find myself. I have a quasi plot outline, so I have an idea of where things should go, but can't find the words to make events actually happen. It's not even as though the characters aren't speaking to me (I can't tell you how many crazy looks I get from my family when I mention the characters talking to me) it's more that there's all this ... noise in my head that I can't hear what they're saying. 

We all have lives to live outside the worlds we create. So, how do I get rid of the white noise buzzing inside my head which is comprised of all laundry list of things that I need to accomplish in my real life. 

The following article I found gives great advice on overcoming writer's block by some very respected authors. 
http://flavorwire.com/343207/13-famous-writers-on-overcoming-writers-block

 But what do you do when it's not technically writer's block?

I just don't have a clue. 

Priceless experience of attending a writer's conference.

Today was an amazing day! I, along with my very dear friend Kali Rogers, attended a local writer's conference. Just a short trek into the mountains of North Georgia brought us to the beautiful town of Dahlonega. As this was the first writer's conference I had ever attended in any capacity, I wasn't sure what to expect. To be perfectly honest, I was more than a bit nervous.

Silly, right?

Still, it's the truth. I'm not typically a timid person, however, unfamiliar situations unsettle me regardless of my extroverted personality. But I must say, sitting in on the panels and listening to other authors discuss their processes on myriad aspects of writing brought a sense of belonging made me feel connected to something much bigger than myself. I've not been at this whole writing thing all that long, so making that connection to others, discovering that these authors struggle and move through many of the same things I find myself stumbling over was priceless.

I've heard it said many times that writing is a solitary act. I tend to agree with that sentiment. As authors, we (at least I know this to be true for myself) become involved with our characters, they become like family after all, we're immersed within whatever fantastical world it is we're building at the time and we bury our heads in the sand. Sometime days, weeks, months later, we emerge with, hopefully, at the least a completed  first draft. Attending the literary festival/writer's conference today reminded me that this isn't such a solitary act after all.

There are a few more of these small town festivals on the schedule for myself and Kali this summer. Next year, I plan to not only attend these conferences but to have a table or booth there as an author.

Can't wait!

In case you're interested here's a link to the conference I visited today:

http://dahlonegaliteraryfestival.wordpress.com/

Until next time ...

Savannah

Discussing the 'Information Dump'

When I first embarked on the journey to becoming a honest to goodness writer I had a big learning curve in discovering the difference between good narrative and an information dump. We all know the importance of having a strong first page, and hooking the reader from the get go. The following article by Chameleon Author on her blog The Write Place gives (in my humble opinion) a wonderful perspective on why the information dump, most especially on the first page of your novel, should be avoided at all cost. 

Page 1 - No Place to Take a Dump...

   Most commonly referred to as an "info dump", that is. You have three chances to get a 

reader to snatch up your book. The first comes when they see your cover. That will be 

the most immediate draw, and even the title won't be as persuasive as how enticing your

cover is. The second comes when they read your blurb. A lot  hinges on how well this is 

written, but the deal breaker comes as they take that little "Look Inside" Amazon provides.

   If the first thing they see are two huge paragraphs of block text, you've already made 

them weary, and the danger is that some will, at best, skim the text to see what on earth 

you're going on about. IF they turn the page and see more of the same, you've lost at least 

half your potential buyers, right there. For those that trudge through it, you had better hope

that 3rd page doesn't contain even one more block of text. Three pages is simply too long 

to wait for the action to get going.

   You can just about get away with this a little further into the book, after you have the reader 

hooked. Hooked readers are much more forgiving than ones wanting to be hooked. Master

storytellers are the ones that have found the balance of just enough back story, at just the right time. 

It's never necessary to lay out the entire reason for your books existence in one fell swoop- and most 

especially within the first 3 pages of your book.
   Even if you manage to hook your reader despite the dump, do you really want them telling their 

friends: "I liked it once it finally got going, but it was hard to get through at times.". Scary words, 

in my opinion, and not exactly a shining endorsement. Liked and hard should never be used in the 

same sentence to describe a product, even if they are separated by a comma.
   If you're not getting the sales you should be getting despite the data telling you people are looking, 

you should really try and find out why. If you've "taken a dump" on your first page, you just might 

want to clean it up. :)
   

Back it up!

I subscribe to several blogs on writing as I think probably many of us do in effort to keep up to date with our craft. One which I truly enjoy is The Blood-Red Pencil. As I've recently had this very conversation with a fellow author I found the advise that Kim Pearson gives in this post invaluable.

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2014/01/writing-rule-back-up.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FeFvAc+%28The+Blood-Red+Pencil%29

After you lose hours upon hours of work is too late to remember to back it up. I'm sure you've been in a situation where you lost at least part of your work for one reason or another. I know I have, and I didn't like it one little bit. It's a scary and frustrating place to find yourself. The old saying of 'don't put all your eggs in one basket' also applies. Not only back up your work, but do so in multiple places.

So, moral of the story? Save often and in multiple places.

Savannah

2014 here I come!

As cliche as it may seem to make New Year's resolution, I find that every year I'm right there along with so many others making a promise to start some new regime with the new year. Exercise more, drop a few pounds (or a lot, depending), cutting back on the amount of diet soda consumed, those have and are some of the ones at the top of my list every year. 
Regardless the content of the resolution, it matters little as the odds are against sticking to anyone of them throughout the year. 

However, maybe it's not so much the resolutions themselves that appeal but the hopefulness behind making those promises that the important part. The beginning of a new year brings with it a chance to wipe the slate clean and start anew. After a couple of years of incredible highs and some pretty hard lows, the idea of starting fresh with the hope of a year full of possibilities is more than welcome. 

In 2013, one my most heartfelt desires became a reality-- publishing my first novel. Though I've written for a very long time, it wasn't until a couple of years ago I began to allow others into that part of my world. Naming it trepidation over putting myself out there in such a way is a gross understatement. It's terrifying. What changed you might ask? 

I suppose it's simplest to say that I made a promise to myself. One that has nothing to do with New Year resolutions, but with reinventing myself, and realizing that my dreams are important and worthy of my effort. 

New year. Clean slate. A fresh start. 

Recently I read a post on one of the blogs I follow and the author spoke of setting goals for the upcoming year-- goals for what you want to accomplish in your writing to be specific. That set me to thinking about what I wanted in the new year and about resolutions in general. In a way a resolution is a goal, but for some unknown reason (at least to me) a goal sounds more permanent, more concrete if you will. So, in that vein I have set about creating goals for myself for 2014.


1. Publish an anthology of short stories.
I have plans to write a series of short stories to compile within an anthology to then publish. My goal with doing so is to provide a variety of works for readers, and to fill in the gaps between the full-length books. I've set a goal for myself to publish two short story/flash-fiction anthologies in 2014. 

2. Publish the second book in The Shephard Series.
I'm up to my eyeballs with plotting out and writing the follow up to my debut novel, Starting Over. It's been an interesting ride so far. I've set my goal to have the novel ready for publication by late 2014. 

3. Social media and blogging.
While on this journey of rediscovering myself I've found that I have a difficult time with this aspect of marketing. This blog post is a beginning towards that end. Using social media to bring in readers is an important aspect and though I've used it somewhat, I've by no means utilized this tool to its fullest potential. 

New year. Clean slate. Fresh start. 

So get ready 2014, here I come!

Savannah